Medical Destination Thailand Visa – Benefits Recipient
I am "Anonymous Participant" from the post earlier which can be verified by the admins. I did not receive many helpful messages, having stirred a conscientious social issue within the UK.
Nonetheless, I seek a long-term medical visa under the Destination Thailand Visa. I am currently in Thailand, I am preparing my application and have determined a major Bangkok Hospital which can provide the necessary long-term (5-month) treatment plan, I have the required 500k thai baht, passport photos, I have 'income' but I'm unsure of validity due to it being government disability payments contingent on my return to the UK every 6 months to 'reset' the clock. There is no specified time that you should be in the UK for, however I know upon my return in June, I'll be headed to surgery at the same hospital which caused my injury – and I'll likely not return to Thailand until September 2026.
Without a doubt, I am in receipt of government benefits and I am entitled to them. This status may change in the future, but right now I am fully entitled to government support, I need the support and I understand that I would appear more cognitive or 'catty' compared to other individuals who are working without any issues.
I was the valedictorian of my high school in inner-city London, constantly remarked as the best pupil by teachers who had 20 years of experience, I had a full scholarship to a boarding school after leaving my state school, having been poached by them. Local magazines covered my academic achievements, I had an engineering grant and scholarship at a top university, and I'm from a non-wealthy first-generation immigrant (and ethnic minority) family. Quite a lot of things have happened these past few years, and I am starting the harrowing journey of obtaining a medical visa all on my own.
Background:
I have lived in the UK since birth and in receipt of government benefits since late 2023. I am in my early twenties, and I dropped out of university due to serious medical complications.
I'm not asking for your political views, or if you think benefits should be limited to fully paralysed patients. I am visibly able-bodied, cognitive from extensive academic studies, and I am aware that I can and will be perceived as fully functioning by others.
My visual acuity was assessed at 1/60 (UK scale) in both eyes, and I am requiring an essential surgery as soon as possible, but having suffered psychiatric harm following severe complications from a prior eye surgery – I am extremely hesitant to accept further support. This is my anxiety condition.
As a result of being unable to go through the additional surgery required, my eyesight is deteriorating each day. I need mental health treatment to manage my anxiety, so I can get the additional surgery.
This may be met with comments, "just go to theatre," "it's not a big deal," "just get sedated," "so you're preventing the surgery to stay on benefits,". This is not the case at all. Complications from eye surgeries which may be perceived as minor to some people who are unaffected by the condition or removed from the impact, present life-shattering challenges to those who experience it.
Imagine having visual difficulties treatable by contact lenses or glasses, and you go into the operation room for what should be a 40-minute procedure, and your eyesight never unblurs, nothing – not even drops, scleral lenses or even repeat surgeries fixes the 'blur'.
I was 20 years old and unable to see without agitating glares and the feeling of glass in my eye. I am undoubtedly, as a result of medical complications, disabled and it has been a lengthy ordeal to get the required compensations from the hospital trust which had treated me as a patient.
For a year, I was left in the limbo of being unable to engage with any more surgical treatments, leading to the worsening of my eye condition. I self referred and engaged with talking therapists, I was under their care for a year and managed 2 in-person appointments, the rest of which were virtual calls with a professional. My anxiety is not considered 'life threatening' or 'high risk' so despite my repeated requests for in person care for all appointments, I had to wait 6 months between in-person appointments from an over-subscribed council ward.
I cannot see but I am not suicidal at all. I lived years with bad eyesight that was corrected by glasses, and then following a failed operation, found myself in a position where my eyesight was permanently damaged but faithfully ‐ a transport could be available, or if the hospital trusts' scleral lenses aren't a fit, they could get me specialised lenses.
I have been in Thailand since the start of this month to seek medical treatment and fix my mental health disorder. Whilst I did not get into detail in my original post and I will be brief here, the glares and flashing lights in my vision meant that I stay home most of the time, which was my set-up in London too.
Due to my blindness, I am entitled to PIP, which is a disability benefit that compromises most of my monthly income. Following a work assessment test, I was declared not fit to work by my doctor, I cannot work at all, and carrying out daily activities, cooking, cleaning, is impossible when my vision is so poor and reduced. I could theoretically chop an onion, as I've done for years, as you could chop an onion if you wear the incorrect contact lens to induce blurred vision. The work assessment test is not about what you can do, but what is reasonable and appropriate for you to do. I still cross the road without assistance even though I physically cannot see incoming cars, and have no vision at night. I still send text messages, sometimes without a screen-reader because I'm 20, I know where the keys are.
My life has been affected by medical complications, and my £30,000 settlement reflects this harm. The trustees to my personal injury trust, a relative in the nursing profession oversees the handling of funds and makes the necessary copies of transactions to the DWP. I received the settlement in November, after knowing for months, and informing the DWP in June that the respondent wished to settle.
My monthly income from government support is around £1850 whilst living in London, and expected to reduce to £1050 whilst in Thailand due to the removal of housing element. I receive some grants unrelated to the DWP or Universal Credit from mental health charities.
My dream is to go back to school one day, and getting medical treatment for my anxiety is the best thing I can do for myself, ahead of my scheduled surgery in June 2026. I do not believe I have peaked, and extensive medical treatment and care in Thailand at an affordable cost is the lifeline I need.
I have attached redacted brief copies, and I am genuinely seeking support with a medical 5 year visa. I was appalled to read comments this afternoon suggesting the UK government just tosses money to people who refuse to work, or that the system is being 'gamed'. Go ahead and claim £2000 a month, you will never succeed. Take your strife to the oligarchs fleecing the country, leaving houses empty to rig market prices, the corruption within senior management levels of government and don't direct it to a young adult who has refused to give up on their life and utilising all the support they're entitled to, to get back on track.
Regards,
